The Anonymous Widower

A Visit To The World’s Best Therapist

I had a bit of a shock this morning, as the news said that somebody I might know had died in tragic circumstances.

So I decided that I needed to explore some parts of the London Underground. I intended to have breakfast at Leon in Kings Cross station and then I intended to see if I could find the Underground maps in Lego.

I then visited all the maps before I finished up at Stratford, from where I took the Overground home.

As I often do, I met some interesting people, including a young lady accompanied by her charming baby, who with her partner had taken a train all the way back from Istanbul and soon were going to Denmark overland. Where do I find a lady of a compatible age to myself, who likes trains, architecture and football?  Especially, to accompany me to Odessa to see the Potemkin Steps, watch England in Kiev and then come home via Warsaw and Berlin.

i certainly felt a lot better, as I say down to watch the cricket.  But I still don’t know if I knew the person, who died.

June 13, 2013 Posted by | Health, Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Good Project Management At Heathrow

It may be something that doesn’t affect many of us, but airport runways need to be rebuilt every so often.

This report on the BBC this morning about resurfacing the Southern Runway at Heathrow, shows how good project management helps difficult jobs to be done, with the least disturbance to anyone.

I liked the bit about using models to educate the workforce before the project was started.

Let’s hope the rest of the project goes as well as the eighty metres they did in the night of the report.

June 12, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | 2 Comments

The Spirit Of London

This bus has been around in various guises, but whilst waiting for a 38 to come home, it passed the stop.

This report on the Stagecoach web site, gives details of its refurbishment after an arson attack.

 

 

June 10, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Car Registration NAB 2

This evening, I saw a car with the registration of NAB 2.

This was once owned by the colourful MP; Gerald Nabarro.  But he didn’t own just NAB 2, but the whole sequence from one to seven or so.  I remember seeing them all lined up in a newspaper picture, with two being used for the gardeners’ mopeds.

One connection to the modern day is that Christine Hamilton was at one time, his secretary.

June 9, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel, World | , | 1 Comment

A Conversation With A Smoker

This lunchtime, when I left  to go to the Allergy Show, I was approached by a well-dressed guy at the bus-stop, who asked if I had a light for his cigarette. I obviously didn’t have one and neither did any of the other six or seven people waiting for the bus.

I suggested it was a sign that he should give up his habit, but he said he’d never found anything that worked.  So we all suggested a few ideas and he walked up the road.

He didn’t seem bothered by the ;lecture, but I doubt it will make him think much about his habit.

June 9, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel, World | | 2 Comments

An Advert That’s A Waste Of Money

This advert in Hackney was placed in the ideal position, to be read by those in the front seats on the top deck of a double-deck bus, which is from where I took the picture.

An Adert That's A Waste Of Money

An Adert That’s A Waste Of Money

So for a start, a lot of the people that view the advert are like me and don’t have a car.

But surely these days drivers buy fuel totally on price and that generally means a supermarket.

I suspect, if you find someone, who says that he or she was influenced by this particular advert to change to Esso, I’ll show you a liar.

June 7, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | 2 Comments

The Dubai Vodka Set

I bet the sheikhs in Dubai like this story.

It shows what a liberal bunch they are to allow such excess and drinking of vodka.

The writer, Paul Moss, didn’t describe those that invited him to dinner, but various obvious images come to mind.

I went to Dubai once, and there was little of the historic Dubai to visit.  The best bit was the ferries or abras across Dubai Creek.

June 7, 2013 Posted by | Food, Transport/Travel | | Leave a comment

A Mistake On A London Bus

London buses are nearly always built with an entrance at the front and an exit in the middle.  This post gives a good view of the two doors on the bus in the foreground.

I was on a 205 going from Kings Cross to Marylebone and sitting next to me at the back, were a couple from Sheffield, who wanted to go to the gardens at Regent’s Park.

The bus was a bit crowded and when it came time to get off,they walked right to the front door, before the driver, told them that you exit London buses from the middle.

The muddle in the middle of the bus as they returned, illustrated one reason, why buses should have an entrance and an exit.

This separation also makes it easy to load one baby buggy, as another is getting off and it tends to push the low life away from the driver.

I can’t for the life of me understand, why it isn’t compulsory for buses to have separate entrances and exits.

Strangely though, with New Buses for London, the drill now seems to be that you wait for everybody to get out at the entrance nearest you and then step in. People also tend to avoid getting on through the middle door and of course the conductor marshalls the passengers in busy times.

June 7, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

The Stairway To Heaven Memorial At Bethnall Green

The memorial to those killed in the Bethnal Green Underground Disaster is now almost complete.

According to the Stairway To Heaven Memorial Trust website, only the staircase needs completing.

 

 

June 7, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Why Was This Idiot Allowed To Drive?

When I had my stroke, I was not allowed to drive until I’d proved I was safe. As my eyesight never returned to 20/20, I decided that it was probably best to give up trying to drive again. I suspect now, that I might be able to drive without any problems, but I couldn’t live with perhaps knocking someone over, even if it was impossible for it to have been my fault.

On the other hand, the idiot driver of the van shown in this report from the BBC, was a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, who went on to kill a young mother and injure thirteen others.  In other words he was a worse killer than the two who are accused of murdering Lee Rigby.

What doctor allowed him to drive after the diagnosis? He should be struck off at the least.

June 5, 2013 Posted by | Health, News, Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment